Although I called to confirm that the restaurant had a valet, none was available when we arrived which is a problem for my elderly parents. The restaurant was very noisy. The food was mostly delicious.

I have been looking forward to trying Sababa and it was worth the wait! Not a huge menu, but everything we had was absolutely delicious! Highly recommend the Halloumi, Fried Cauliflower, and the Lamb Shank. It's a bit of a loud restaurant too, but what restaurant in DC isn't these days? Make a reservation and go try it!

I came here excited about a traditional Israeli fare restaurant in the area. It's definitely Israeli food, but with a bit of creative interpretation. Part of me missed a traditional Israeli salad or Falafel, but the food we had was good and interesting.

We ordered the hummus, israeli salad, cauliflower, a rice/tomato/pasta dish, and eggplant.

The cauliflower and charred eggplant were the most memorable dishes.

The food was rather bland, not enough seasoning. The portions were so small, I was very surprised. We were joking where would we go eat after we left because the amount of food we got was so little. Also the chairs are so uncomfortable and hard.

We decided to try Sababa's brunch on the strength of the recommendation of a friend who hadn't eaten a meal here but was very taken with their zinc bar. We started with the Salatim (Israeli for "salad"?) that consisted of 5 discrete little tubs of different salads or salad-like things: a carrot date salad, a grated beet salad, a pickled cucumber dill, a spread of haloumi, and another roasted red pepper salad, all served with a saucer-sized fresh warm whole wheat pita bread. Absolutely delicious! You could definitely make a meal grazing on small plates here, but because we were here specifically for brunch I wanted to try the lamb & egg (on pita with harissa humus), which was delicious. My husband had the salmon kebabs which he also loved. Good wine selection, a few good beers, some handcrafted cocktails. Very reasonable prices. I don't know if I would call this a destination restaurant, but if you are in the neighborhood I would highly recommend it. Perfect for before or after a zoo outing!

The food was great and it server was extremely attentive. It was brunch, so it was a bit busy but not a problem.

Pro: We were seated on time
Con: Of the four items we ordered, not one would inspire a return visit. Both the lamb shank and the greasy red cabbage it was perched upon were devoid of seasoning ; the roasted eggplant was wildly, mouth puckeringly over salted; and the grilled sardines did not present as pristinely fresh and were oddly paired with tasteless zucchini. The service was so rushed that the entree was delivered before we had eaten two of our three small plate starters. in all the years I've been doing Opentable reviews, this is the first one to which I've given only two stars. It's possible that because we are such big fans of Bindaas and Bombay Club that we came to Sababa with unrealistic expectations, but we certainly left with fully realized disappointment.

I would highly recommend Sababa ! We enjoyed the hummus and eggplant dish especially. Salmon dish was very tasty but could have been cooked a little more.
Manager very friendly and offered us complimentary desserts since we were celebrating birthdays.

Shareable plates as well as entrees. Fun for a group that can try several different dishes. For easier conversation, upstairs dining area quieter, less crowded, than downstairs that includes bar area. Small outdoor area for dining upstairs as well.

Nice addition to the neighbourhood. Food was good and came out fast; cocktails very good

Absolutely wonderful new restaurant. Ashok has done it again. We can't wait to return. Everything about it was excellent.

Had a great time at Sababa! Delicious and unique cocktails, amazing hummus and small plates, and perfect service.

We enjoy eating at Sababa's (our 3rd visit), as do our friends. The food is excellent! The ambient noise is pretty annoying for conversation, and when loud music is added, it's pretty tough (tho the staff was quite willing to turn it down).

This place was amazing! Hummus was very good, the lamb shank and the steak kabobs as well. I didn't like the Sardines, but I'm not that much of a seafood person. The meats were so tender, and the lamb shank fell off the bone. The red cabbage bed under the lamb shank complimented it very well as well as the couscous bed under the steak kabobs. Will be back soon.

The hummus stood out more than the other dishes. Very creamy and delicious with interesting flavors for “hummus of the day” Gave service 3 stars because of how fast food came out, felt rushed entire meal

We had an excellent meal at Sababa. We had the Saladim, 5 mezze and the salmon kabob. Everything was excellent. The only advice I would offer is not to order everything you want at once as the food comes out when it is ready and since everything came out pretty quickly, we had a very rapid meal. Our server was extremely attentive and could answer any questions we had.

The middle eastern Jaleo! Beautiful restaurant, great food & service. Andrea was incredibly helpful & friendly. Definitely will be returning!

The good was poorly prepared, overly salty and otherwise flavorless. The alcoholic beverage was interesting and small.

Waited 20 minutes for a table after arriving for our reservation on time. Both the bar and lounge were full but after a few minutes we were able to get a seat to wait. They gave us wine and the rest of the service was impeccable for the rest of the evening.

Very good food. We enjoyed the eggplant starter and really recommend the fish entree which changes often. Dining room a bit small and poor layout.

Went to Sababa for the first time last weekend. We were celebrating a birthday. Although we had a reservation, the restaurant was hopping and we were not seated for 50 minutes. The owner and staff were very apologetic for the wait and offered us wine/cocktails while we waited. We also put in our order so that we wouldn't have to wait long once seated. When we were seated, the service was terrific and the food was outstanding. We are frequent travelers to Israel so are very familiar with the cuisine. The menu choices are authentic yet very creative. And everything we had was terrific. At meal's end, the waiter came by to offer us complementary deserts on behalf of the management, again as a way to apologize for our long wait. All in all, we highly enjoyed our experience at Sababa and definitely will be going back soon.

The food was very good and the atmosphere upscale cool. The eggplant and hummus were fabulous.

Great interpretation of modern Israeli food! Lots of tasty vegetarian option, fluffy zaatar pitas and a comfortable yet upscale atmosphere. Well done!

My grandson and I love good food and we eat out often together.....Sababa was terrific......we shared five dishes.........four of them were outstanding.....we especially liked the 5 salad combo and the hummus ........can hardly wait to go back.

The service was unbearably slow. 35 minutes for our drinks to be delivered to our table, and 50 minutes for roasted chicken to be served. This was well after our other two guests had long since finished their meals. The price for additional pita bread is just ridiculous.

Some food was not cooked enough. One item In our order was forgotten. It was not hot when brought to the table, long after all the other food had been eaten. We were not charged for the item.

This is not Israeli food at all. Nothing approached authentic Israeli food. It was sort of Mediterranean. They put mango in the Israeli salad. Overwhelmed the Zhug with ridiculously hot roasted chili’s marinated all the kabobs in yogurt an Indian not Israeli approach and the humus was very middle of the road.

This restaurant serves new Israeli food with nods to Egypt. Having visited both countries in the somewhat distant past, I had not been impressed with their cuisines. Sababa has totally changed my views. The "new" cuisine is similar to the traditional but really delicious. How to describe it? I am not sure I can except to say that all the dishes tried so far are light and fresh tasting while not being simple minded.

Pros-Very tasty food, lots of options; pleasant and helpful service; pretty decor
Cons-Hard chairs, no rugs, slippery floors, noisy noisy noisy

Whereas Ardeo was one of our go-to local restaurants (where we went for special occasions as well as good food, relaxing, pleasant dinners for two), Sababa is not.

I was under impressed, especially when this restaurant is in the same family of restaurants as Rasika. A good selection of vegetarian dishes but the restaurant charges for pita bread! $2 per pita, really? This restaurant is similar in price to Zaytinya but doesn't hold a candle to their quality.

We really like this new idea! The food was very good but the service was spotty. We asked and found out that they were down one server ... and you could tell. We will definitely go back, suggest it to others and look forward to trying some of the dishes we missed this first time.

After a reservation we had to wait for 30 minutes for a table. We would have waited longer if we had not protested. The staff also argued with us instead of apologizing after 15 minutes and offering us a free cocktail (as recommended by Tom Sistema of the Washington Post). They should have done what they did at the end, show us the menu so that we could order at least.

Food was good. Waitress: okay. All the staff have attitude.

Ashok Bajaj should be careful as this mixed experience could alter my views of his other restaurants.

Salatim offerings should be slightly more generous. Chicken kabobs were boring. Eggplant was delicious. Lamb was very good but nothing particularly Israeli or Middle Eastern about it. Overall, food was good but experience felt a bit dumbed down for American palate.

Sababa is a re-imagining of the Ardeo space in Cleveland Park. The menu is Israeli-inspired, small plates with a selection of mains. Very creative cocktails. Food is flavorful and interesting.
Overall -- a welcome newcomer to the neighborhood.

Loved it. Wonderful and delicious offerings. Glad to get a table on a busy Saturday night.

Food was great and the service was outstanding.

Sat upstairs even though we asked to be seated down stairs. Host was rude telling us that all the tables were booked when I saw 6 empty tables. I saw a white family brought up by a different manager rejecting their table and being taken to a table down stairs. Food is okay nothing special. Many better Mediterranean restaurants in dc! Expecting much more from this group of restaurants. Save your money go elsewhere!

What a fabulous meal! We had the charred eggplant, hummus, pita, beef and chicken kebobs. Everything was wonderful and the service was great.

Sababa is a good addition to the Cleveland Park restaurant scene. It is transformed space from the former Ardeo. It's small plate menu is good for sharing. The restaurant is lively, the atmosphere is appealing, the food is interesting and tasty.

1st visit for my partner & I since opening. We were regulars at Ardeo Bardeo (live in the hood, etc ). Overall a lovely dining experience w/ a lot of the same workers which was nice to see. Cool redesign with good personality. The food was just ok for us given other dining options in DC. Small plates are a theme but the portion size is lacking a bit, particularly the Kababs (literally 4 bite sized pieces of steak for $14). Our cocktails were also not impressive, unfortunately. Ordered the Halva World Away and the cocktail was way too medicinal and thick. Our waitress, who happened to be a former mixologist for Ardeo, makes much better cocktails! We'll give it another few months & might visit again, but we won't be in a hurry to make a reservation any time soon. We support our neighborhood stores, bars & restaurants regularly. Bummer...